Consequences
by Ape32
Summary: G1 fic, post Countdown to Extinction. In the brig at Ark, Skyfire confronts Starscream about his actions, and about the horrible changes his friend has undergone since last they met...


Consequences

By Ape32

Disclaimer: I own nothing. All of this is property of HasTak.

Take note that this fic takes place after Countdown to Extinction.

* * *

Within the depths of the Arks, something spiteful was resting up after his capture, fuming and seething with impotent rage at his circumstances and what he perceived to be the reason HE was captured instead of other, less competent Decepticons.

_Stupid slagging Megatron! He did this on purpose, I know he did! Lousy, incompetent, blithering old fool! How dare he let this happen…! _

Starscream's mental rant continued on with only minor variations on this theme, a festering boil filled with heated acid.

The mission had been simple enough; attack nameless oil rig, terrorize some humans, collect energon. The usual operation for those unfortunate enough to be stationed on Earth. And, like clockwork, the Autobots arrived, defended the rig, beat the Cons back… it was nothing unusual, NOTHING at all.

Except for what happened during their final takeoff.

Megatron, perhaps just a wee bit ticked off by this latest in the long string of failures, was in an especially foul mood during said take off, much to the misfortune of a certain air commander. Normally, Starscream's taunts and quips weren't enough to get under the both figuratively and literally thick hide of Megatron, but, this time, Starscream had apparently said something that just sent the great, grey monster off the deep end. Starscream couldn't remember what it was he had said exactly, his memories were far to dominated by the sound of a bloody roar coming from Megatron and the image of him turning on his second-in-command and firing a beam of purple light his way… and then things had gone dark, and now he was here.

Trapped. In the brig of the Ark, surrounded by Autofools. Life really wasn't fair at times, but Starscream was not the sort to dwell on this. Not when he could busy himself planning his inevitable escape from the belly of bleeding heart central. Yesss, once the opportunity presented itself, the air commander would be getting out of here as fast as his thrusters could carry him.

Of course, that opportunity had yet to present itself; for hours now (at least in his mind), Starscream had been sitting down, chin resting in his hands as he tried to bore a hole into the wall opposite is bench by the sheer power of his sullen glare. Starscream's patience was something of a lesson in contradictions. While he could easily outwait anything as petty as mere imprisonment, when it came to things such as missions and gaining power, his patience was significantly less. Hence why he could sit here without acting as agitated as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs, yet, the instant he got out, he'd more than likely be on Megatron's case and making an ill-fated power play, AGAIN. Of course, Starscream WAS a mech of contradictions all around, so perhaps it was not really all that out of place for him to behave like this.

And so he just sat there, sat down and mentally ranted, vented, and otherwise made his frustrations known, if only to an audience in his mind.

Then the chime of the door to the brig opening snapped Starscream out of the haven of his mind, and the sneering seeker turned his head to see just who it was that had decided to be down here, with him. His optics widened at the sight before him, and, in a moment of weakness, the first word escaped him. "Skyfire…?"

Indeed, the enormous white mech was there, and he was heading right toward him, stopping only a few feet away from the energized bars of Starscream's prison. He placed his hands behind his back, and his gaze upon the seeker was neutral. However, other than that… he did nothing - nothing but stand and stare like a metal statue.

Starscream stared back, not saying a word. For what seemed like an eternity, this silent face-off continued...

…until 'Screamer finally cracked under the steady gaze of his once-friend. "Stop staring at me, damn you, and speak! What do you want from me already?!" His tone was a combination of annoyance, paranoia, and anger - a perfect mixture of the feelings coursing through his circuitry at the moment. Why was Skyfire here? Was he going to kill him…? No, Skyfire could barely bring himself to attack any Decepticon with lethal force, much less one that had been his friend. "I DEMAND THAT YOU SPEAK TO ME YOU GREAT USELESS-!!"

"Why?"

The agitated rant died in his voder, and Starscream stared dumbly at the massive Autobot. "Why…what?"

"Hmf… I suppose I should be more specific, but, quite frankly, that's the only question that has been on my mind for a bit now, Starscream," Skyfire said in a tone that sounded remarkably like disappointment. Starscream groaned and 'rolled' his optics.

"Really now, Skyfire. Why even ask if you're going to be so blasted vague?" Starscream drawled, clearly unimpressed by the statement. "But I myself have a question, and I, unlike you, shall show enough courtesy to have it make sense." He sat up in full, and gazed curiously into the larger flyer's optics. "Why are you here? It's painfully obvious that you haven't been selected for guard duty. They never would let you guard me, not with our history, eh old friend?" A cruel smirk grazed the face of the air commander, hoping that the reminder of what once was would get under Skyfire's armor.

To his annoyance, Skyfire didn't even shutter an optic. The next words that came out of the large mech's vocal processor however came as a surprise to Starscream. "Why did you try to destroy Earth?" He was referring, of course, to the incident that had occurred only a week ago, when, in the aftermath of Megatron's latest energy gather scheme, Starscream had allied himself with the lunatic, human scientist, Dr. Arkeville. Starscream had betrayed the doctor and sabotaged a creation of his, the exponential generator, setting the energy gathering device to overload and explode, taking Earth with it.

Starscream stared at him like he was an idiot. "The energy that could have been released from its destruction would have empowered Cybertron for vorns to come and cemented my position of leadership back home. I should think that obvious, even to one such as yourself."

Skyfire scowled, an alien expression for his face by Starscream's reckoning. "So…energy. That was it? Power and energy… you would have murdered billions of sentient lives, destroyed hundreds of cultures…. All for mere _energy_?!" His angry, no, enraged tone took Starscream by surprise, but he did not allow it to show. Instead he narrowed his optics at the shuttle.

"Lower lifeforms count for nothing, Skyfire," Starscream hissed. "If I have to exterminate a large quantity of vermin to pave the road to my power, then so be it."

Skyfire's scowl intensified, and his own optics narrowed right back, glowing a light azure. "So… they were right."

Starscream's expression morphed into one of confusion yet again, and his brow furrowed in irritation. "Who was right? Primus, when did you start enjoying being the cryptic sort…?"

"The Autobots. You know, the people you've been trying to kill for the last few millennia?" Skyfire retorted, sarcasm seeping into his tone. Starscream snorted and was about to respond acidicly, but Skyfire cut him off before the Seeker could get a word in edgewise. "I suppose I should have realized it when I first awoke… when you tried to have those humans killed. I should have seen it then… but, no, I made up excuses for you, if only in my mind. Even afterward, I continued to believe in you, despite what I was told; that you were a schemer, a traitor, a coward, a murderer… the list went on and on, and I couldn't believe it. I didn't _want_ to believe what they'd said about you… and for a time I held out hope that despite your flaws, you could be brought back to your senses." Skyfire lowered his head in sadness. "I see now what a waste of time that was."

Starscream's optics widened and his jaw fell agape in shock… before twisting into a vicious snarl as he snapped to his feet and lunged toward Skyfire, brought up short only by the row of glowing, crackling energy bars. "How DARE you judge me, you weak willed idiot! Do you have any idea about what losing you did to me? What happened to me after you were gone?!"

"Was it so bad, so damn horrific, that it justifies you becoming a monster?!" Skyfire yelled back as he raised his head to angrily meet his former friend's optics. "Look at you! You're a twisted parody of who you used to be! You KNEW I wouldn't know what was going on when I awoke. You KNEW I could never countenance the Decepticons' way, but you threw the truth to the winds and spun a pretty tale of their benevolence to convince me to join. And, when I realized how you lied to me, you proclaimed me a traitor and SHOT me!!" Skyfire spat. This anger was not like him… and Starscream was too stunned by it to find his voice, even backing away a little. Skyfire calmed down a little after the outburst, speaking in more level tones. "I do not know what became of you after I was trapped… but you dealt with the poor hand life dealt you in an even poorer fashion. You've ceased to be the mech I knew - I know this now. All that remains is Starscream, air commander of the Decepticons; a groveling, malicious bully who kills and maims for sport. Which brings me to your first question…"

Starscream nodded numbly, his mind still trying to process that he'd just been dressed down by Skyfire of all mechs. Skyfire, who he'd traveled the galaxy with. Skyfire who he would have done ANYTHING to have gotten back… how could his friend be doing this? What had happened?

The fact that he had not long ago shot Skyfire with intent to kill somehow escaped the mind of the air commander.

"I'm done, Starscream. I'm through making excuses for you - trying to justify your behavior. It is now painfully obvious that you're every bit the mech the Autobots described to me." Skyfire's tone was not mournful, not sad. Instead it was stern and deeply disappointed. Starscream felt a strange chill cross cross his systems, a sort of dread realization of what Skyfire was saying. "I came down here to severe ties, Starscream, what few remained between us. Goodbye, Starscream… when next we meet, it will be as enemies."

There was a pause. Starscream gaped, while Skyfire glared back. And then Starscream's face contorted into an expression of utter, total and complete rage. "YOU DARE ABANDON ME?!! FINE!! I DON'T NEED YOU ANYWAY!! WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, AND I'M GOING TO KILL YOU SLOWLY AND PAINFULLY! DO YOU HEAR ME, **TRAITOR**?!?!?!"

Skyfire paid no heed to the hysterical seeker and simply turned and headed out. Starscream's shrieks continued to follow him down the corridor. "Where do you think you're going?! Get back here now, Skyfire! You hear me?"

He was halfway down the hall by now.

"**SKYFIRE!!!" **

It was the last thing Skyfire heard as he traveled to the end of the hall and entered the elevator leading back up to the main levels. The scientist felt more than a little numb as he headed up. He ignored his fellow Autobots as he made his way to his quarters. Once inside his personal space, he collapsed onto his berth and sighed heavily, staring up into the ceiling. Despite the confidence he had shown in the brig, in truth, that encounter had left him drained. It had been painful, but it needed to be done. He could no longer afford to treat Starscream as a misguided friend, not when he was willing to sparklessly wipe out an entire race just so he could assume something so fleeting and ultimately meaningless as power. He wondered what had happened to the mech he'd known, to the curious scientist who had been so passionate about his work. Skyfire lifted his hand and unspaced a holocube, activating it and displaying the picture within, his face bathed in the glow when the hologram spread into the full picture. It was of him and Starscream, before the war… Skyfire's arm was slung over Starscream's shoulder, and both were smiling and chuckling merrily, their friendship solid and their futures bright. Or so they had thought… but what had come to pass was more terrible than either of them could have imagined. Skyfire felt a pang of misery strike his core processor; he spaced the picture and laid back on the berth, continuing the riveting game of 'stare at the ceiling'. Some part, some tiny part, felt that Starscream could change, and change completely… but, for now, he would stick true to his words; Starscream was his enemy. And the next time they met, if he had to… he would kill the seeker. The thought did not comfort him as he slid into recharge.

He would have been surprised to know that, for a brief moment during their exchange, that Starscream had known the TRUE cost of his actions and the choices he had made. But any chance of insight had died in its conception as the massive ego of the air commander crushed such thoughts into pulp and set his mind back into the familiar pathways of self-justification and rationalization.

Thus did a friendship die. Thus did Starscream cement himself to the path that would inevitably end with his destruction.

Such are the consequences of war.


End file.
